Planting Fruit Trees For a Healthier World

It’s officially summer and as fond childhood memories go, strawberry picking with my brother and cousins was an annual tradition always tops on our summer must-do list. The Fruit Tree Planting Foundation is a nonprofit committed to planting and helping others plant 18 billion fruit trees around the world and encouraging their growth through organic standards.

With programs focused on providing nutritious food sources for wild and rescued animals, and supporting and guiding those interested in planting fruit trees to bring health through locally grown, high quality fruits and vegetables to people, the Fruit Tree Planting Foundation is dedicated to its planting programs to benefit the environment and all its inhabitants.

A couple of the programs supported by the organization are:

Roots of Recovery: donates fruit tree orchards to facilities such as hospitals and drug rehab and health centres to improve the health of patients and residents whom also help with the planting and nurturing of the fruit trees which has been shown to aid recovery.

Orchards for Animals: provides healthy food, shelter and shade for rescued animals on sanctuaries, and workshops for volunteers to ensure the growth of these environments.

Fruit Relief: distributes and plants fruit trees in areas where the harvest benefits the hungry, poor and needy, such as in low-income communities and international hunger relief sites. This program which has created orchards in India and planted thousands of trees in Kenya, also donates fresh produce to a variety of food relief organizations.

Across the globe, the organization is securing land “with the sole purpose of restoring native plant ecosystems with an abundance of fruit trees and plants that benefit the surrounding air, water, and soil and provide food sources for wild animals.” From trees that yield edible fruit, nuts, leaves, or roots, to native medicinal trees and shrubs, the Fruit Tree Planting Foundation’s planting designs not only make fresh fruits and vegetables more accessible but address erosion issues and replenish important organic matter into soil.